Attachment of soles to shoes



lDea. 11, 1928.

- '1,694,446 J. W. MELOON ATTACHMENT OF' SOLES T0 SHOES 'Filed cf. 4,'1926" AMM.-

Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES WILLIAM MELOON, OF WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, F PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ATTACHMENT or soLEs To' sHoiis.

Application led October 4, 1926. Serial No. 139,429.

This invention relates to improvements inshoes and to the manufacture and repairing thereof and is illustrated herein with reference to the repairing of a turn shoe.

The repairingof turn shoes, at least without removing their outsoles, stitching the uppers wrong-side out to new outsoles, and turning and refinishing the shoes, has long been unsatisfactory and impractical. Moreover, the ordinary shoe repair shop is not equipped to do such work. Even if it were the condition of many of the turn shoes brought in by customers for repairing is such that the cost would be out of p-roportion to the value of the shoes when repaired. It is, accordingly, an object of the present inven tion to provide a simplev and satisfactory method applicable to the repairing of turn shoes and sufficiently cheap to make its use` economically sound even when the shoes, aside from the worn sole, are not in such condition as to warrant lasting of the shoe upper wrong-side out relatively to a new sole and turning and subsequently renishing the shoe. In another aspect this invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, for the method herein disclosed is not limited in its utility to repair work. A

As illustrated herein, the novel method is characterized by the attachment of a sole member to a shoe by staples arranged with their bars substantially at rightangles to the edge of the sole. With the staples so located, their tendency to interfere with the flexibility of the shoe is practically eliminated, a shoe with its sole attached in this manner being much more flexible than a similar shoe having its sole attached by sta les having their bars parallel to the edge o the shoe.

In another aspect the invention comprises a shoehaving a sole member attached by staples arranged with their bars substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole member.

With the above and other objects and features in view the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a shoe, positioned sole upwardly and having a half-sole attached by means of staples located in a channel with the bars of the staples at right angles to the edge of the sole;

Fig. 2- is a sectional view, on a larger 55 scale, taken on the plane II`II of Fig. 1; an

Fig 3 is a fragmentary, transverse, sectional view through the sole and part of the upper of the shoe prior to the attachment 6o of an outsole member thereto.

The invention is disclosed herein with reference to a turn shoe having an upper 10 attached to a sole member 12 by stitchingr 14C entering the edge 16 of the upper and 65 passing into 'the shoulder 18, through the between-substance 20, and into the channel 22 of the sole, as shown in Fig. 3. By the time such a shoe reaches the repair man its sole 12 will have been Worn thin in the mid- 709 dle, as indicated at 24 (Fig. 3) and will be rounded off or somewhat worn at the edge, as indicated at 26. In repairing this shoe in accordance with my novel method, the sole is trimmed to a feat-her edge, as indicated at 28, the portion ofthe sole cross-hatched in Fig. 3 being removed, for example by skiving it oil'. An outsole 30, preferably channeled as indicated at 32 (Figs. 1 and 2), is then applied to the sole 12, which 80 thus becomes an inner sole member, and is attached thereto by staples 34. located in the channel and extending from the shank portion around the ball portion and the toe of the shoe and positioned with their bars 36 85 substantially at right angles to the edge of the outer sole member 30. While this outer sole member 30 is shown in Fig. 1 as a halfsole, it should be understood that this is for urposes of illustration only and that it may Ee longer, or possibly shorter, if desired. The staples used for attaching soles in this fashion should be of moderately fine wire, for example wire abouty .025 by .045 of an inch. With the bars of staples formed from such wire positioned substantially at right -angles to the edge of the sole and thus substantially parallel to the axis about which the sole iieXes when the shoe is worn, womens shoes are not rendered objectionably 100 stiff as they are when they have their soles attached by other kinds of metallic fastenin s.,

IVhile the invention hasl been disclosed herein with reference to the repairing of turn shoes, it should be understoodl that it is not limited thereto sinc'e it is in some of its aspects applicable also to the manufacture and repairing of other types of shoes.

Having described' the invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: 1. That improvement in methods of repairing shoes which comprises trimming to a feather edge' the edge portion of the sole of a shoe Whichis to be repaired and attaching a sole member to the sole so trimmed by staples extending from the shank around the ball portion to the toe of the shoe and positioned with the bars of the staples substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole member.

2. That improvement in methods of repairing turn shoes lWhichcomprises skiving to a feather edge the edge portions of the sole of a turn shoe which isv to be repaired, applying a. channeled sole member to the sole so skived, attaching the channeled sole member to the skived sole of the shoe by staples driven through the channel of the sole member into the skived sole with the bars of the staples arranged substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole, and closing the channel flap to conceal the bars of the staples.

3. That improvement in methods of repairing turn shoes Which ,comprises skiving to a` feather edge the edge portions of the sole of a turn shoe which is to be repaired, applying a' channeled sole member to the sole so skived, attaching the channeled sole member to the skived sole of the shoe by a row of staples extending along both side edges and around the forepart of the channelled sole member, said staples being driven through the channel of the sole member into the skived sole With the bars of the staples arranged substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole, and closing the channel Hap to conceal the bars of the staples.

4. A method of attaching soles to shoes 'characterized bydriving a row ofstaples at right angles to the edge of said sole` members.

5. A method of repairing shoes which comprises applying to a shoe an outer sole member channeled about its periphery, driving staples through the channel of said sole member into an inners'ole member and the shoe upper with the' bars of the staples Substantially at right angles to the periphery of said sole /members, clenching the ends of the legs of the staples inside the shoe, and closing the channel flap to conceal the staples.

6. A shoe having an outer sole member attached thereto by a'rovv of staples extending substantially parallel With aside edge of the sole member with the bars of the staples arranged substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole member.

7 A shoe having an outer sole member attached thereto by a row of staples extending around the ball and forepart of the shoe with the bars of the staples arranged substantially at right angles to the edge of the sole of the shoe.

8. A shoe having an inner sole member and an outer sole member attached thereto by staples positioned with their bars substantially parallel to the axis about Which the sole of the shoe flexes when the shoe is Worn.

9. A shoe having an inner sole member and an outer sole member attached thereto by a row of staples extending along the edges of the ball portion of the sole members, said staples being driven in a channel of the outer sole member with their bars positioned substantiall at right angles -to the edge of the sole and eing concealed by a channel flap of the outer sole member.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specication.

JAMES WILLIAM MELOON. 

